This post got me thinking about cover colors. There has been an explosion (haha) of orange covers lately. Have you noticed? Check out their list, which I can add quite a few more to:
I love orange. It stands out so well. But maybe this one’s jumped the shark. I think next summer, one of my bingo squares for the teen readers will be read a book with an orange cover. Seems like there’s plenty from which to choose!
What’s your take on this trend?
and one step backward. Check out this forthcoming title about an overweight girl. Sorry, chickie, it’s a donut for you!
Starstruck by Cyn Balog is about a girl whose nickname is Dough and she becomes a total fatty when she moves away from her old home. Longer description available at Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf.
I get that the family runs a donut shop, so it sort of fits that. But, you know, it’s the theme of fat girls with food on the cover…
I lived for the Janie series in my teens — you know them — the mystery series about a girl who goes missing but doesn’t really seem to know until she sees herself on a milk carton. I devoured them. Let’s take a walk down memory lane with Ms. Caroline B. Cooney who is still producing quality mystery books for teens and take a look at covers past and present.
The Face on the Milk Carton was published in 1990. I like all of the covers, but I remember the middle one being the one of my childhood. The last one has a cool different (and kind of techno) inspiration, no?
Twenty Pageants Later was published in 1991. I love this cover! Talk about what you expect a prom-esque cover to look like in the early 90s. Take this one against Richard Peck’s forthcoming paranormal one, eh?
Freeze Tag gives us one incomprehensible cover (what is going on on the right?) and a super creepy ice princess on the left. This was published in 1992.
Some of these are just hilarious, especially with the tag lines. “The Sweet Smell . . . of EVIL.” The Perfume was published in 1992.
Driver’s Ed was published in 1994. I sincerely hope the photo of the girl on the left isn’t on her driver’s license. She looks 9! The redesign is much stronger and still holds immense appeal.
Talk about a good creepy title! Night School was published in 1995.
There are a ton of titles dealing with fire and burning from Cooney. Burning Up was published in 1999 and I think I like both covers. The one on the left is eerie from the perspective of it looking innocent. The one on the right is just a blaze which sets a good vibe.
I wish my remote were that simple, don’t you? Tune in Anytime was published in 1999. I think the cover on the left might be more of a throwback to the invention of remotes, since I don’t ever remember having one with that few buttons. The one on the right’s a little more accurate.
Talk about two totally different covers for the same book. Goddess of Yesterday was published in 2002. I think the cover on the left is very boy-appealing (you know, minus the “goddess” part) and the one on the right screams girl appeal. I love the coloring there.
2005 saw the publication of another one that screams “fire” to me — Code Orange. I really dig this cover. It stands out on the shelf.
Perfectly haunting. Diamonds in the Shadow was published in 2007.
Two covers for a newer title, too. Enter Three Witches was published in 2007. The first is drawn and the second is a photo. Interesting to offer one of each.
Three Black Swans was published this year — I just really dig this cover. The black, grey, and red color scheme works well, and the swan positioning is inviting and repelling at the same time.
It cracks me up that almost every one of her covers tauts her as the “Bestselling author of The Face on the Milk Carton.” Did you notice that?
Do you have a favorite? What elements work or don’t work for you on her covers? I have to admit, I’ve only read the Janie series, so I can’t comment on the others.
It’s happened.
It took a long time, and it took a cover redesign, as well as a forthcoming show on ABC Family, but we have come to a day I have been looking forward to for a long time.
How awesome is that? This is an entirely marketable cover. It is appealing and relatable to so many young women out there. It’s not threatening, it’s not mocking, and it is a true representation.
A HUGE thanks goes out to Simon & Schuster for the redesign here. This is so much better than this, this, and this. Let’s not resort to this, this, or this again.
Lois Duncan: you’ve read her work. Her thrillers were core to my teenage reading years, and it was at that time that film makers produced I Know What You Did Last Summer, as well. Let’s talk a walk down memory lane and check out some of her covers past, present, and remastered.
A Git of Magic, published in 1960. I think this is the original cover. WHAT is with the person in the background — are they dancing? levitating? having a seizure?
Here are a couple of different renditions, with the signature style of her newer covers featured last:
Season of the Two – Heart published in 1964. Definitely fits what the aesthetic of the 1960s young adult book was, right down to the color tones.
Point of Violence published in 1966. I love the crime club selection style here, as it really does set it apart — you know other books in that time period had similar covers if they were crime selections. That sort of cover work really aids in reader advisory. I sometimes wish we still had this sort of visual aid (we do in some ways but not like this!).
1966 also brought us Ransom. This one underwent a title change, as well. It is also known as Five Were Missing.
This one’s been redesigned a couple times. The first stands out, fits with the aesthetic of Duncan’s other titles, and screams thriller with its tag line. I might have to say the second redesign is kind of hokey. It reminds me of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast shot.
1973 brought us When the Bow Breaks. This is one that again fit with the books I’ve seen or had from the 1970s.
Of course, what would a Duncan retrospective be without this 1973 classic?
That is our original cover for I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Film style, of course.
I love this one! Talk about spooky.
Killing Mr. Griffin came to us in 1978, and it, too, got the movie treatment.
I think the last one’s my favorite. I like how similar they all are, but they each still provoke just a little bit of a different feeling.
Let’s move on to the 1980s. Duncan brought us these titles in that decade:
1981’s Stranger with My Face. I love this cover. It is so 1981 — think about how much this is reminiscent of the original Sweet Valley series!
I love this one. This is the first title of Duncan’s that really looks like something other than a white girl/boy.
1985 brought us Locked In Time, featuring a cover model who looks about 35. But this one, too, has gotten a few make overs.
She looks much older than teen aged, too, doesn’t she?
1989 brought us Don’t Look Behind You. This one SCREAMS 1980s and teenage thriller. A red corded telephone transports us back to such an innocent era, doesn’t it?
And finally, we’ve reached the 1990s.
I really like all three of these. The crystal ball and snow globe images are eerie.
Duncan hasn’t written much for the teen group in the 2000s, as Hotel for Dogs is aimed at a younger crowd. However, as you have seen, many of her books have been repackaged over and over. These have incredible staying power, and it has been smart of the publishers to redesign the covers to fit the ever-changing aesthetics of our culture.
Do you have a favorite here? I think mine might be the incredibly cheesey 1989 Don’t Look Behind You. I bet it would still circulate like crazy with that cover!
